Tag Archives: downtown Los Angeles

I came across the coolest film clip ever yesterday when I was making the rounds on Facebook – this one from my friends at SoCal Historic Architecture. Head over and follow them if you are a fan of LA history. The clip in question features a few views around Los Angeles in 1912. Quite clearly, some things have not changed a bit: traffic is still terrible, pedestrians still wander out into the middle of the street, and bicyclists still disregard all rules of the road to their own peril. But some things have changed. For example, we no longer have an alligator farm, and as far as I know, ostriches are in short supply – at least within the city limits. As far a public transportation – the 1912 version was first-rate…today we are slowly reclaiming some of that nascent efficiency.

At any rate, I am certain my Angeleno friends will enjoy this film clip as will anyone who has an interest in early-twentieth century urban history.

Harristorian Tees – historically inspired tee-shirts

Across the Bloody Chasm – Now Available!!!

Praise for Across the Bloody Chasm

“One of Harris’s chief contributions is his recovery of lost ambiguities, intentions, and memories, which fairly quickly were obscured by national self-interest and the ignorance of Americans who did not fight or who were born after the war.” - American Historical Review

“Harris makes a persuasive case that in the battle for Civil War memory neither Union nor Confederate veterans were willing to concede much to their former enemies. . . . Across the Bloody Chasm makes a worthwhile addition to growing literature on historical memory of the American Civil War by demonstrating the limits of postwar reconciliation among veterans.” - Journal of American History

''Well written and accompanied by 84 pages of notes, a bibliography, and an index, the study . . . stands as a major contribution to a discourse still central to the polity of the US. Highly recommended.'' - Choice

“[An] uncommonly well written and concise book. . . . M. Keith Harris is to be commended for clarifying why the process of national reconciliation took much longer than we have previously recognized and the role that Civil War veterans played in it.” - Civil War Book Review

“Harris . . . makes extensive use of regimental histories as he believes they document the true views of the veterans. He also makes good use of the speeches and commemorative programs published during veterans’ gatherings over the decades after the war. . . . Harris’s treatment of the various issues and themes is a useful reminder of what our veterans, and our country, went through in the years after the Civil War as every American, but especially veterans, tried to digest the importance of the bloody conflict the country had endured and the role each of them had played in it.” - On Point